Home

If you ever wanted to know what it might be like to be a 20-something at a summer evening party in Brooklyn, Home brings it to you - right from the awkward early arrivals conversation to the last lingering geeky guy who continues to hope to get lucky.

Reminiscent of the kind of events I went to as an undergrad, Home's characters talk about their work and their relationships, drifting in and out of each other's conversations in a way I find I do less and less as a 30-something. As a result, I felt a kind of nostalgia for the people and situations in the film - the boyfriend stealer, the jilted crush, the pining for the cute guy who may or may not be interested - and how I felt at that age when it seemed like everything in life could be determined in the course of one evening's party.

I saw this film at the San Jose film festival, and have heard it will be shown at several other festivals this year, where I'd be interested in seeing it again. I'd also be interested in getting a copy of the soundtrack if it becomes available.

I am not someone who gets all that turned on by most small indie films - either they work for me or they don't. "Home" worked - it worked the party, even!!!

Two comparisons to other filmmaker's work I can make are A) Altman and 2) Scorsese; the former due mostly to a seemingly effortless tapestry weave and the latter due to a wonderful, ongoing music meld.

It's rare that I see an indie film that feels fresh, and I'm certain that I've never seen a party portrayed as effectively and true as in "Home".

It begins small, with 4 or 5 people, and methodically grows, all the while following the main character Bobby's perceptions & observations. From time to time new people simply "appear" at the party. They aren't always introduced and it doesn't matter. That's the way parties operate and writer/director Seitz nails it. Sometimes things get ugly, sometimes things are sweet. Think Blake Edwards' "The Party", only contemporary and minus the slapstick.

The cast is exceptional across the board, but I gotta give high props indeed to Jason Liebrecht, who reminds me of Tarantino (his suit may be a factor), if only Tarantino were younger and could act. This guy really should go places. He was absolutely worth following around for 90 minutes. Erin Visslailli was the other standout; she's got this wonderful sense of strength that comes through in the subtlest of ways. I could line-list what I like about each actor, but suffice it to say they made a wonderful ensemble of believable people and there isn't any one person I didn't buy.

What's also admirable - from a behind-the-scenes standpoint - is that "Home" is written and directed by a film critic, Matt Zoller Seitz. When a critic steps up to the plate to put their money where their keyboard is, I consider it a hugely brave move. Few have the tenacity to do it; Rod Lurie and Bill Carter are a couple off the top of my head and I'd really like to see others who earn a living from the medium attempt the same.

This film really needs a nice DVD release or a shot at playing on The Sundance Channel or IFC. Highly recommended and best viewed with a bottle or two of fine wine, perhaps even in an intimate party setting of your own design.

I saw Home at the Long Island International Film Expo and was immediately struck by the feelings of personal connection that I developed towards the characters. Matt Zoller Seitz, telling the story of a summer party in Brooklyn, seems to offer a curiously familiar glimpse into the inner worlds of numerous twenty-somethings who descend upon the brownstone.

The first few guests trickling in, the banter among them, the formation of various cliques, the whimsical motion of individuals between circles, the excitement of interacting with new people, the questions of where these relationships may go--such scenes transport the viewer to a living world of collision and connection over the course of an evening.

While most movies about parties focus on drug abuse and sexual conquest as topics to easily draw a crowd's attention, Home is laced with subtle emotional currents and realistic encounters. Congratulations to Matt Seitz and his terrific cast.

I was fortunate to catch "Home" at the San Jose Cinequest film festival, and it's a winner.

Everything about "Home" had a familiar feel… right down to the posters on the wall and the drink glasses.  It was as though I were hosting the party in my own home… but without the cleanup.  And at the end of the film when the guests left, I felt close enough to the characters that I felt that I had been to the party as well, and that I'd see them tomorrow. 

I think it's hard to pull off that kind of intimacy with people you see on film, but Matt Seitz has done just that in "Home."

This is an example of how to do a 'slice of life' series of stories - Altman is surely running in the genes of Seitz's script - and the key thing is that it's never boring or too dull. There may be some scenes that are more amusing or more insightful than others, but the director really captures this section of Brooklyn at a particular place and time. It's insular in a way, it's shot all on a shoe-string (not that it looks cheap, but you can tell that everyone pulled together and made this for the sake of the material first as it's mostly at the location of this apartment).

The people in this movie drift in and out of conversations, and are reflecting on how their current situations are, if they may find some better way to live or are happy with how things are (hint, many of them aren't, whether they come out and say it or not). There's some awkward humor but mostly it's about how the truth comes out in a conversation, naturally, with some hints of romance as well. But what helps is that there are no super-outwardly quirky characters, there's no one that stands out in such a way that is like "LOOK AT MEE!" It's a testament to how Seitz corrals his ensemble and edits smoothly between the different scenes and set pieces.

Will it get out there like other indie movies? Maybe not, and only because of the sad state of affairs that it usually takes 'names' for people to come to smaller movies like this that are based around the strength of just the script and "no-name" actors. Hopefully over time as MZS continues with being a great presence as editor on Roger Ebert's website and an author (Wes Anderson, Oliver Stone, Mad Men books), people come back to this nifty little movie that says a lot in a small piece of time.